Leather-skiving machine.



J. R. SCOTT. LEATHER SKIVING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 5, 1901.

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W/ 77VE55E5 MQMW J. R. SCOTT. LEATHER SKIVING MAGHINE.

'APPLIOATION I'ILED OCT. 5, 1901.

961,736, Patented June 14, 1910.

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J. R. SCOTT.

LEATHER SKIVING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 0015, 1901.

Patented June 14, 1910.

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W/ T/VE55E5 A? ZYM EKEW g J. R. SCOTT. LEATHER SKIVING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 5, 1901.

Patented June 14, 1910.

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W/ 77VE55E5 ANDREW & GRAHAM c0. FHOIO-UTNOGRAPHERS. wnsnmsr N n J. R.SCOTT. LEATHER SKIVING MAUHINE.

APPLICATION I'ILED OCT. 5, 1901.

Patented June 14,1910.

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W/ 77VE55E5 ANDRE/V a, GizAMAM c0 mmaumoamwzns, WASHINGTON, m0.

J. R. SCOTT. LEATHER SKIVING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 001'. 5, 1901.

961,79 Patented June 14, 1910.

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ANDREW a GRAHAM co. rumo-uwucmwuais w aSMlNc-TQN. Dy (1 J. R: SCOTT.

LEATHER SKIVING MAOHINE. APPLIOATION FILED OUT. 5, 1901.

913/9 Pa'tnted June 14, 1910.

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F/Zi 9 J. R. SCOTT.

LEATHER SKIVING MAGHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED OCT. 5, 1901.

9615736., Patented June 14,1910.

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ANDREW & GRAHAM co. Pnmwumosmmzns, WASHINGTON D c JACOB R. SCOTT, 015BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS,

COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOEMACHINERY OF NEW JERSEY.

LEATHER-SKI'VING MACHINE.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 14, 1910.

Application filed October 5, 1901. Serial No. 77,730.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB R. SooT'r, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Leather-SkivingMachines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to leather skiving machines for skivingarticles of leather such as boot or shoe counters, box toe pieces, andthe like.

The object of the invention is generally to improve the construction andmode of operation of leather skiving machines and more particularly torender such machines more eflicient as to the quality and quantity ofthe work produced, more durable, and more completely automatic in theiroperation.

The invention is intended primarily as an improvement on certain leatherskiving machines heretofore devised by me and forming the subject-matterof prior applications for Letters Patent, the particular machine towhich the illustrated embodiment of the present invention has beenapplied being disclosed in Patent No. 7 60,025, dated May 17, 1904. Itis to be understood, however, that my invention is not limited to themachine shown nor to any particular type of machine nor, except asspecifically defined in the claims, is it limited to any particularconstruction or arrangement of parts.

The machine disclosed in the application above referred to is providedwith a die roller and with a pressure device for holding a blank in thedie cavity during the skiving operation, said pressure device consistingof a roller provided with a yielding surface. While this pressure rolleracts satisfactorily to perform its intended function, the material ofwhich the yielding surface is composed soon disintegrates under thestrain to which it is subjected and becomes cut and torn so as to beunfit for use. The surface of the roller is also often cut and injuredby contact with the skiving knife in case the knife is improperly orcarelessly adjusted. Frequent replacement of the pressure roller orrenewal of its yielding surface is therefore required.

A feature of my invention consists in providing a leather skivingmachine provided with a die roller, with an improved pressure devicewhich will perform the function of holding the blank in the die cavityduring the skiving operation with even greater certainty than thepressure roller of the machine disclosed in my prior application and thelife of which will be practicaly co-extensive with that of the machine.This improved pressure device consists of a plurality of independentlyyielding members arranged side by side longitudinally of the roller.Preferably these members are arranged in contact with each other so thatthe surface which contacts with the blank is practically continuous andevery portion of the blank is acted upon as the blank passes between thedie roller and pressure device.

I am aware that it has been proposed to provide a leather skivingmachine comprising a die roller with a plurality of independentlymovable spring-pressed levers or fingers for holding the blank in thedie cavity. These levers were not, however, arranged side by side butwere separated from each other by interposed toothed feeding disks ofmetal. The levers were therefore necessarily thin and rapidly wore awayas did also the metal feeding disks. This necessitated the frequentadjustment of the springs which acted on the levers and the frequentreplacement of the levers and the feeding disks. Moreover, in thisconstruction dlfiiculty was experienced in causing the blank to be heldfirmly against the bottom of the die. In a construction embodying myinvention the members of the pressure device are not separated byintervening parts but are arranged side by side and can be made ofsuflicient width to prevent wear. Also a suflicient extent of the blankcan be acted upon to insure its being held against the bottom of the dieduring the skiving operation. My improved pressure device in addition tobeing indestructible may be arranged to allow the knife to be set nearerthe line of contact of the die roller and pressure device with the blankthan is the case when a pressure roller is employed.

In all leather skiving machines provided with a die roller and apressure device that portion of the blank which passes between theskiving knife and the die roller tends to force the edge of the knifeaway from the periphery of the roller and it often happens that by thetime the rear edge of the blank has reached the knife the edge of theknife has been appreciably displaced. In all such machines with which Iam familiar the die roller alone is depended upon to deliver the blankfrom the bite of the die roller and skiving knife and as a result therear end of the blank usually becomes wedged between the die roller andskiving knife and the blank is delivered by the succeeding blank as itis fed to the skiving knife. forced away from the periphery of the dieroller thus has no opportunity to return to proper position and theleading edge of the succeeding blank is skived to too great a thickness.To obviate this defect of prior skiving machines, a feature of myinvention consists in providing a leather skiving machine with means fordelivering a skived blank from the bite of the die roller and skivingknife. While any means for accomplishing this result is within thepurview of my invention broadly considered, as tending to simplicity ofconstruction and efiiciency of operation I prefer to employ means actingon the blank in the rear of the line of contact of the die roller andpressure device, the best form of said means at present known to mebeing a roller arranged to cooperate with the die roller.

It is desirable in a machine for skiving blanks of leather that means beprovided for indicating the number of blanks which pass through themachine as thereby the number of articles produced by the machine can bereadily ascertained at any time and the rate at which the machine isworking accurately determined. Also the number of articles produced canbe used as a basis in determining the selling price or rental of themachine. I have accordingly provided the machine illustrated in thedrawings accompanying this application with a register which is soconstructed and so arranged with relation to the other parts of themachine as to be actuated with certainty at such time and at such timeonly as a blank is passed through the machine. This register whencombined and arranged with other parts of a leather skiving machine, ashereinafter described and claimed, constitutes a feature of myinvention.

Other features of my invention consist in certain devices andcombinations of devices hereinafter described and claimed, theadvantages of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

In addition to the features above referred to, the machine illustratedin the drawings and hereinafter specifically described is provided witha follower arranged to act upon a pile of blanks in a blank-receivinghopper, and with mechanism for actuating the The knife edge which hasbeen follower which possesses certain novel features of invention whichform the subjectmatter of the claims of Patent No. 777,550, datedDecember 13, 1904.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which- Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a counterskiving machine embodying the same; Fig. 2 is a view in side elevationof the machine shown in Fig. 1 looking in the opposite direction; Fig. 3is a view in end elevation looking from the right of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is aplan view; Fig. 5 is a detail sectional View taken on the line 55 ofFig. 3 illustrating the mechanism for actuating the follower; Fig. 6 isa longitudinal sectional view of the upper portion of the machine; Fig.7 is a sectional view taken on the line 77 of Fig. 6; Figs. 8, 9 and 10are detail sectional views illustrating the operation of the machine inskiving a blank; Fig. 11 is a view in side elevation of the register andits actuating mechanism; Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11, theportions of the register below the dotted line 1212 of Fig. 13 beingremoved; Fig. 13 is a sectional plan view on the line 1313 of Fig. 12and Fig. 14: is a detail view of the connection between a lever and rodwhich form a portion of the means for throwing the feeding mechanism outof operation.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates a suitable hollow standard orbase which sup-- ports the frame 2 of any suitable construction forsupporting the operating parts. The frame 2 as shown consists of a baseplate 3 through which the bolts 1 pass which secure the frame to thestandard 1, side plates 5, crosswebs 6 and 7 connecting the side plates5 and a yoke 8 bolted to the side plates at the delivery end of themachine and extending upward and inward over the center of the machine.A driving shaft 9 is journaled in the lower portion of the frame 2 andhas secured thereto at one end a hand wheel 10 and at theother end apinion 11 and a driving pulley 12. A pulley 13 is mounted on the shaft 9beside the driving pulley 12 and rotates freely thereon.

14E designates the die roll which, as shown, is of the same constructionas the die roll shown in my prior application above referred-to and isremovably mounted in the same manner. As in the machine disclosed insaid application this die roll is provided with two die cavities whosegreatest length extends longitudinally of the roller and theconstruction by which the roller is mounted is such that the roller canbe placed in the machine in a position to bring either die cavity intocooperative relation with the feeding mechanism. The die cavities are ofdifferent depths so that by adjusting the position of the roller themachine can be used to satisfactorily skive blanks of differentthicknesses without substituting a new roller. The die roller issupported by a shaft 15 between a sleeve 16 journaled in a bearing blockin the upper portion of one of the side plates 5 of the frame and ashort shaft 17 journaled in a bearing block in the upper portion of theother side plate 5, the end of the shaft 17 next to the die roller beingbored axially to form a sleeve similar to the sleeve 16. The shaft 15extends axially through the sleeve 16, the roller let and into thesleeve formed by the shaft 17 and is held in position by means of ascrewthreaded rod 18, which passes through the shaft 17 longitudinallyand has a screwthreaded engagement with the end of shaft 15. By thisconstruction the shaft 15 can be rotated by means of the hand knob 19 atthe outer end of the shaft to disengage the shaft from thescrew-threaded rod 18 and then withdrawn to allow the removal of the dieroll 14: from the machine. In order to cause the die roll to revolvewith the shaft 17, and the sleeve 16 to revolve with the die roll, andalso to enable the die roller to be placed in the machine so as to bringeither of the die cavities in proper relation to the feeding mechanism,the ends of the die roll are slotted to receive projections from flangeson the adjacent ends of the sleeve 16 and shaft 17. The shaft 17 isdriven from the pinion 11 on the driving shaft through a gear 20 securedto the reduced outer end of the shaft by means of screw 21 which mesheswith the pinion 11.

The improved pressure device which I have provided for holding the blankin the die cavity during the skiving operation is shown as consisting ofa series of vertically movable slides 22 mounted side by side in arecess in the vertical face of the cross-web 6 of the machine frame andheld in such recess by a block 23 bolted to the cross-web. The slides 22are off-set at their upper and lower ends so that the movement of theslides is limited in both directions by the contact of the off-sets withthe block 23. Each slide rests upon a separate leaf spring 2 1 whichforces the slide toward the die roller with sufiicient force to hold theblank firmly in contact with the bottom of the die cavity and permitseach slide to yield independently. The upper ends of the slides are incontact with each other so that the pressing surface formed by the upperends of the slides is practically continuous.

The skiving knife is indicated at 25 and is secured to the upper surfaceof the crossweb 7 by means of screws 26 passing through slots in theknife. Screws 27 passing through the vertical portion of the web 7 andbearing against the rear edge of the knife serve as a means foradjusting the position of the knife or as stops for insuring the correctposition of the knife when it is replaced after removal. It will benoted that no portion of the pressure device extends to the rear of thecutting edge of the skiving knife and that consequently the knife can beadjusted to bring its cutting edge in close proximity to andsubstantially in line with the line of contact of the die roller andpressure device with the blank. The blank is thus acted upon by theknife at the point where it is firmly held in the die cavity by thepressure device and has no tendency to rise from the die as is the casewhen the edge of the knife is situated at some distance from such lineof contact.

The means for delivering the blank from the bite of the die roller andskiving knife which I have illustrated in the drawings consists of aroller 28 preferably provided with a yielding surface, such as rubber,which is arranged at the rear of the line of contact of the die rollerand pressure device with the blank and cooperates with the die roller indelivering the blank from the bite of the die roller and skiving knifeand discharges the blank from the machine. The roller 28 rotates with aperipheral speed greater than the peripheral speed of the die roller,and in the machine shown in the drawings I have provided means forimparting a positive rotation thereto. This means consists of a pinion29 mounted on the end of the roller shaft (see Fig. 2) which meshes witha pinion 30 which in turn meshes with a gear 31 secured to one end of ashaft 32 journaled in the yoke 8 of the frame. To the other end of theshaft 32 is secured a gear 33 which meshes with a pinion 34 secured tothe shaft 17 (see Figs. 3 and 7).

The horizontal portion of the cross-web 6 of the machine frame forms afeed table over which the blanks are fed to the die roller and pressuredevice. Located above the feed table is a hopper for holding a pile ofblanks, said hopper as shown comprising a front wall 35 from which aflange projects by means of which the front wall is sup ported on thetop of the bearing blocks for the sleeve 16 and shaft 17. Between thesebearing blocks the flange is bent downwardly over the die roller to forma guard 36 to prevent the blank from passing backward over the top ofthe die roller. Said hopper also comprises side walls 37 which areadjustably secured to the feed table by means of bolts 38 passingthrough slots in the lateral extensions 39 of the side walls. Locatedbelow the front wall 35 and forming a continuation thereof is avertically movable plate 40 beneath which the blanks are fed to the dieroller and pressure device and which acts as a presser for holding theblank against the feed table and also as a guard for preventing morethan one blank being fed forward at a time. This plate is held inposition between the bearing blocks for the sleeve 16 and shaft 17 andthe side walls 37 and is yieldingly pressed toward the feed table bycoiled springs 41 as is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The upwardmovement of the plate 40 is limited by adjustable stop screws 41*,whereby the plate is positively prevented from rising high enough topermit the passage of more than one blank thereunder.

The feeding mechanism which I have illustrated for feeding the blanksfrom the hopper is somewhat similar to that disclosed in my priorapplication above referred. to and comprises a feed slide 42 arranged toreciprocate over the feed table 6. This feed slide is secured to a block43 by screws 44 passing through slots (not shown) in the feed slide andcan be adjusted thereon by means of a screw 45 having a screw-threadedengagement with the block and being provided with a flange which passesthrough an opening in the feed slide. The block is mounted in suitableguideways and is reciprocated by means of a link 46 which is pivotallyconnected to a yoke 47 secured to a rock shaft 48 journaled in the sideplates 5 of the frame. The rock shaft 48 has secured thereto an arm 49%see Fig. 1) which is connected by means 0 a link 50 to the lower end ofa lever 51, the upper end of which is provided with a roll which engagesa cam groove in the face of gear 20. As in the machine disclosed in myprior application the connection between the feed slide and itsactuating mechanism is such that the feeding mechanism can be thrown outof operation to stop the feeding of blanks without stopping the machine,some of the advantages of this arrangement being that thereby the jarand strain of the parts incident to starting and stopping the machine isavoided and the operation of the machine can be readily and quicklycontrolled by the operator. The construction for accomplishing thisresult is as follows :The link 46 is provided with an open-ended slot,which receives a pin 52 extending between lugs projecting downwardlyfrom the block 43. The link 46 rests upon a roll 53 which is journaledbetween the arms of a yoke 54 loosely pivoted upon the rock shaft 48.The yoke 54 is connected by means of a rod 55 to one end of lever 56pivoted to the base '1, the other end of the lever 56 being connected aswill be hereinafter described to a rod 57, the lower end of which ispivotally connected to a treadle 58. The above-described construction issuch that when the treadle 58 is depressed the roll 53 is raised into aposition to cause the pin 52 to remain in the slot in the link 46 duringthe reciprocation of the link and when the treadle is raised the roll 53is lowered sufiiciently to allow the I pin 52 to be disengaged from theslot in the link 46. One wall of the slot in the link 46 extends into aposition to contact with the pin 52 both when the link is raised by theroll 53 and also when it is allowed to drop while the other wall of theslot extends into a position to engage the pin 52 only when the link isin its raised position. 'By this construction the feed slide 42 alwaysstops in its forward position when the roll 53 is lowered to disengagethe link from the block 43.

In order to prevent the blanks in the hopper being displaced during thebackward movement of the feed slide a guard plate 59 is secured to theframe of the machine and extends over the feed slide in close proximitythereto. This guard plate also serves as a table to support the blankspreparatory to their being placed in the hopper. The means for securingthe guard plate to the frame of the machine consists of bolts 60 (seeFig. 4) which pass through slots in the guard plate, whereby the guardplate can be adjusted to allow blanks of different widths to be placedin the hopper.

61 indicates a follower for maintaining the pile of blanks in positionto allow the blanks to be fed successively from the hop per, which isactuated by mechanism which may be described as follows :The follower issecured by means of a set screw to the lower end of a rod 62 mounted toslide in a guideway formed in the upper portion of the yoke 8 of theframe. This rod is provided with a series of rack teeth which mesh withthe teeth of a pinion 63 journaled in the yoke 8 of the frame as isclearly shown in Fig. 5. Formed integral with the pinion 63 is a beveledgear 64 with which either of two oppositely disposed beveled gears 65and 66 secured to a shaft 67 are arranged to engage. The shaft 67 ismounted to rotate and slide in bearings in the yoke 8 of the frame andis rotated from the shaft 32 by means of a belt 68 passing over a pulleyformed integral with the gear 33 and over a pulley 69 frictionallymounted upon a shaft 67. The pulley 69 is mounted upon the shaft 67between two friction disks 70, one of which is held from rotationindependently of the shaft by means of a pin 71 connecting it with aflange on the shaft, and the other of which is connected by a pin 72 toa washer 73 surrounding the shaft. A coiled spring 74 surrounding theshaft and interposed between the washer 73 and a washer 75 presses thewasher 73 and friction disk connected therewith against the pulley 69and the pulley 69 against the other friction disk. A nut 76 screwed onthe end of shaft 67 and bearing against the washer 7 5 serves as a meansfor adjusting the fric tion. As a means for lubricating the bearings ofthe shaft adjacent the pulley 69, the shaft is provided with a series ofshallow rectangular grooves at this point for retaining the lubricatingoil, and as a means for lubricating the pulley 69 on the shaft 67, theend of the shaft is bored axially to form an oil receptacle whichcommunicates by suitable openings with one or more of the shallowgrooves above referred to and with the bearing surface of the pulley.

The above-described construction is such that when the beveled gear 66is in engagement with beveled gear 64 as shown in the drawings thefollower is actuated to press the pile of blanks toward the feed tableand maintain the blanks in proper position to be acted upon by thefeeding mechanism, and when the beveled gear 65 is in engagement withthe beveled gear 64 the follower is actuated in a direction to allow anew supply of blanks to be placed in the hopper. The frictionalconnection in the mechanism for actuating the follower formed byfrictionally mounting the pulley 69 on the shaft 67 causes the followerto be pressed against the pile of blanks with a constant pressuredepending upon the adjustment of the friction device and keeps thefollower in contact with the pile of blanks at all times. The frictionalconnection also enables the follower to be rapidly raised from the pileof blanks when the action of the actuating mechanism is reversed bymoving the shaft 67 in a direction to disengage the beveled gear 66 fromthe beveled gear 64 and bring the beveled gear 65 in engagementtherewith, the pulley 69 rotating without driving the shaft 67 when thefollower has reached the limit of its upward movement. The frictionalconnection also allows the follower to be raised and lowered by hand ifdesired.

For moving the shaft 67 longitudinally to bring the beveled gears 65 and66 into engagement with the beveled gear 64 a bell crank lever 77pivoted to yoke 8 of the machine frame is provided, one arm of the bellcrank being forked to receive the end of shaft 67 and being connectedthereto so as to move the shaft longitudinally while permitting it torotate by balls seated at the inner ends of holes bored through thesides of the yoke and engaging a groove in the end of the shaft; theother arm of the bell crank 77 is connected by a rod 78 to an arm 79pivoted to one of the side plates 5 of the frame which is connected bymeans of a rod 80 and bell crank lever 81 to the treadle 58.

The treadle is normally held in raised position against a stop 82 bycoiled springs 83 secured to the treadle and to bolts 84 adjustablysecured in lugs 85 projecting from the base 1 of the machine, and whenthe treadle is in this position the shaft 67 is held in its position tothe left, as viewed in Fig. 7, with bevel gear 65 in mesh with bevelgear 64. Also the roll 53 is in its lowest position and the feed slide42 is disconnected from its actuating mechanism. When the treadle 58 isdepressed the shaft 67 is moved to bring the bevel gear 66 in mesh withbevel gear 64 and the roll 53 is raised to connect the feed slide to itsactuating mechanism. In order to insure that the bottom blank of thepile in the hopper shall be in position to be fed forward at the firstactuation of the feed slide, the shaft 67 is moved to bring the bevelgear 66 in mesh with bevel gear 64 before the roll 53 is raised, wherebythe follower is caused to contact with the pile of blanks before thefeeding mechanism is thrown into operation. Also when the treadle israised theroll 53 is lowered to throw the feeding mechanism out ofoperation before the shaft 67 is moved to discon nect the bevel gear 66from the bevel gear 64 in order to insure that a blank shall be fed fromthe pile at the last actuation of the feed slide. These results areattained by means of the connections between the bell crank 81 and thetreadle 58 and between the rod 57 and the lever 56. The connectionbetween the bell crank 81 and the treadle 58 consists of a pin 86 whichprojects from the treadle 58 through a slot in the bell crank 86. Theshape of this slot is such that during the first portion of the downwardmovement of the treadle the bell crank is swung on its pivot by thecontact of the pin 86 with the side of the slot, and during the lastportion of the downward movement of the treadle the pin travels in theslot without actuating the bell crank. The connection (see Fig. 14)between the rod 57 and the lever 56 consists of a rectangular block 87to which the end of the lever 56 is pivotally connected and which ismounted in a slot 88 in a block 89 at the upper end of the rod 57. Theupper end of the rod has a screw-threaded connection with the block 89and the block is locked in position by means of a locking nut 90. Theslot 88 allows a sufficient amount of lost motion between the rod 57 andthe lever 56 to enable the rod 57 to move during that portion of themovement of the treadle 58 during which the bell crank 81 is actuatedwithout turning the lever 56. As a means for limiting the amount of lostmotion between the rod 57 and the lever 56 a screw-threaded rod 91 isprovided in the upper end of the block 89 which projects into the slot88 and is locked in adjusted position by means of a locking vnut 92. Thelever 56 is actuated by the treadle 58 through the rod 57 during thedownward movement of the treadle only, a coiled spring 93 being providedfor actuating the lever 56 to lower the roll 53 during the upwardmovement of the treadle, said spring being connected to the lever and toa bolt 94 adj ustably secured in a projection on the base 1 of themachine frame. An adjustable stop 94* limits the movement of lever 56.

In the construction above described, it will be seen that so long as thetreadle 58 is in its raised position the feeding slide is disconnectedfrom its actuating mechanism and that when the treadle 58 is depressedthe feed slide is not connected to its actuating mechanism until thebottom blank of the pile in the hopper is in a position to be fedforward when the feed slide is actuated. The bottom blank of the pile isalso held in position to be fed forward by the feed slide until the feedslide is disconnected from its actuating mechanism. Each time the feedslide is actuated, therefore, a blank is fed through the machine and thenumber of re ciprocations imparted to the feed slide determinesaccurately the number of blanks passed through the machine and thenumber of articles produced. In order to indicate the number of articlesproduced by the machine, I have accordingly provided a register arrangedto be actuated by the feed slide. The indicating dials of this registerare shown at 95 in Fig. 2 and the construction of the register and theconnections through which the hands are actuated from the feed slide areillustrated in detail in Figs. 11, 12 and 13. The hands are mounted onsuitable shafts which are connected by a train of gearing indicated at96 in Fig. 13. The shaft upon which the unit hand is mounted is providedwith a flanged collar 97, which is secured by pins to a short shaft 98journaled in a casing'99 secured to or forming a portion of the machineframe. A ratchet wheel 100 is secured to or formed integral with theshaft 98 and is engaged by a spring-pressed dog 101 which holds theratchet wheel in position. The ratchet wheel 100 is actuated by means ofa pawl 102 which is mounted upon a crank pin 103 at the end of a shortshaft 104 and is held in contact with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 100by means of a coiled spring 105 which is secured to the pawl and to apin or screw 106, projecting from the casing 99. The lateral movement ofthe pawl is prevented by means of a guideway formed in a block 107secured to the casing 99. A pinion 108 is secured to or formed integralwith the inner end of the shaft 104 and a rack 109 is secured to thesliding block 43, which carries the feed slide, and meshes with thepinion 108. By this construction the shaft of the unit hand of theregister is positively advanced a step at each complete feeding movementof the feed slide.

' the lever 56 is held against its stop 94* by the spring 93, the roll53 is in its lowest position and the feed slide is disconnected from itsactuating mechanism. Also the shaft 67 is held in its position to theleft as viewed in Fig. 7, the beveled gear is in mesh with beveled gear64 and the follower 61 is in its raised position, the pulley 69 rotatingon the shaft 67. lVhen the treadle 58 is depressed the bell crank 81 isswung on its pivot and through the rod 80 lever 79, rod 78, and bellcrank 77 moves the shaft 67 to the right as viewed in Fig. 7, therebymoving beveled gear 65 out of mesh with beveled gear 64 and movingbeveled gear 66 into mesh with beveled gear 64. The shaft 67 is nowrotated by the pulley 69 and the follower 61 is pressed against the pileof blanks in the hopper and forces the lowermost blank against the feedslide which at this time is in its advanced position. During thecontinued downward movement of the treadle 58 and after the follower 61has been brought into contact with the pile of blanks, block 89 comes incontact with the block 87 in the slot 88 and actuates the lever 56 toraise the roll 53 and connect the feed slide to its actuating mechanism.During its backward movement the feed slide is removed from beneath thepile of blanks and the lowermost blank is pressed into contact with thefeed table 6. As the feed slide advances it engages the rear side of thelowermost blank and feeds the blank beneath the spring-pressed plate 40of the hopper which holds the blank down against the feed table duringits passage to the die roller and pressure device. As the blank passesbetween the die roller and pressure device its leading edge registerswith the edge of the die cavity and the blank is firmly pressed againstthe die roller by the pressure device. The feed slide acts upon theblank during its entire passage between the die roller and the pressuredevice so that a positive feed movement is imparted to the blank and anydanger of the blank being displaced with relation to the die cavity isavoided. The first portion of the die cavity recedes fromlthe pressuredevice and in order to insure that the blank will be forced into the diecavity and firmly seated against the bottom thereof, the mechanism foractuating the feed slide is arranged to impart thereto a speed somewhatgreater than the peripheral speed of the die roller while the firstportion of the blank is passing between the die roller and pressuredevice. This movement of the feed slide act-s to bend the blank into thedie cavity so that it will be firmly held against the bottom of the diecavity by the pressure device. In order to cause the feed slide to feedblanks of different widths the connection between link 50 and the arm 49is made adjustable as is clearly shown in Fig. 1.

The blank passes from the die roller and pressure device between the dieroller and the delivery roller 28 which cooperates with the die rollerin delivering the blank from the bite of the die roller and skivingknife and discharges the blank from the machine. The edge of the skivingknife, if forced away from the periphery of the die roller by thewedging action of the blank, is thus allowed to return to its normal position before the next blank is brought into contact therewith. Theblanks are fed through the machine so that the edge of the blank whichforms the upper edge of the counter when in position in a completedshoe, is presented first to the skiving knife. This edge is thus skivedto the exact thickness required and the upper portion of the counterproduced is perfect. The bottom edge of a counter is lasted in themanufacture of a shoe and it is immaterial whether this edge is skivedto a somewhat greater thickness by the movement of the edge of theskiving knife away from the die roller or not. For all practicalpurposes, therefore, the articles produced by the machine are perfect.When it is desired to place a new supply of blanks in the hopper thetreadle 58 is allowed to rise. During the first portion of the upwardmovement of the treadle, the block 89 is moved upwardly and the lever 56is actuated by the spring 93 to lower the roll 53 and disconnect thefeed slide from its actuating mechanism. After the lever 56 contactswith its stop 94* the pin 86 on the treadle actuates the bell cranklever 81 and through the connections hereinbefore described moves theshaft 67 to disengage beveled gears 66 and 64: and bring beveled gear 65into mesh with beveled gear 64. The follower 61 is thus raised after thefeed slide has been disconnected from its actuating mechanism. A newsupply of blanks is then placed in the hopper and the treadle 58depressed, when the cycle of operations above described is repeated.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent.

1. A leather skiving machine, having, in combination, a die rollerprovided with a die cavity, a pressure device for holding a blank in thedie cavity consisting of a plurality of independently yielding membersarranged side by side longitudinally of the roller, in closejuxtaposition to each other, a skiving knife arranged to act on theblank while held in the die cavity, and feeding means actingcontinuously on the blank during its entire passage between the dieroller and pressure device, substantially as described.

2. A leather skiving machine, having, in combination, a die rollerprovided with a die cavity, a pressure device for holding a blank in thedie cavity consisting ofa plurality of independently yielding slidesarranged side by side longitudinally of the roller in closejuxtaposition to each other, a skiving knife arranged to act on theblank while held in the die cavity, and feeding means actingcontinuously on the blank during its entire passage between the dieroller and pressure device, substantially as described.

3. A leather skiving machine, having, in combination, a die rollerprovided with a die cavity, a pressure device for holding a blank in thedie cavity, a feed slide acting on the blank during substantially itsentire passage between the die roller and pressure device, and means foractuating the feed slide, substantially as described.

4. A leather skiving machine, having, in combination, a die rollerprovided with a die cavity, a pressure device for holding a blank in thedie cavity consisting of a plurality of independently yielding membersarranged side by side longitudinally of the roller and cooperatingtherewith to seat the blank against the bottom of the die cavity, andfeeding mechanism acting on the blank during substantially its entirepassage between the die roller and pressure device, substantially asdescribed.

5. A leather skiving machine, having, in combination, a die rollerprovided with a die cavity, a pressure device for holding a blank in thedie cavity, a skiving knife, and means for delivering a skived blankfrom the bite of the die roller and skiving knife, substantially asdescribed.

6. A leather skiving machine, having, in combination, a die rollerprovided with a die cavity, a pressure device for holding a blank in thedie cavity, a skiving knife, and means acting on the blank in the rearof the line of contact of the die roller and pressure device fordelivering a skived blank from the bite of the die roller and skivingknife, substantially as described.

7. A leather skiving machine, having, in combination, a die rollerprovided with a die cavity, a pressure device for holding a blank in thedie cavity, a skiving knife, and a roller cooperating with the dieroller for delivering a skived blank from the bite of the die roller andskiving knife, substantially as described.

8. A leather skiving machine, having, in combination, a hopper, afollower acting on a pile of blanks in the hopper, a feed slide,actuating mechanism therefor, mechanism for actuating the follower tomaintain the pile of blanks in proper position with relation to the feedslide, a register, connections between the register and feed slide foractuating the register, and means under the control of the operator forthrowing the mechanism for actuating the follower into operation andthereafter connecting the feed slide to its actuating mechanism,substantially as described.

9. A leather skiving machine, having, in combination, a hopper, afollower acting on a pile of blanks in the hopper, a feed slide,actuating mechanism therefor, mechanism for actuating the follower tomaintain the pile of blanks in proper position with relation to the feedslide, a register, connect-ions between the register and feed slide foractuating the register, means under the control of the operator forthrowing the mechanism for actuating the follower into operation andthereafter connecting the feed slide to its actuating mechanism, and fordisconnecting the feed slide from its actuating mechanism and thereafterthrowing the mechanism for actuating the follower out of operation,substantially as described.

10. A leather skiving machine, having, in combination, a die roller, apressure device, a feed slide, actuating mechanism therefor,

a register, and means for actuating the register comprising a shaft,connections between the shaft and feed slide for actuating the shaft, acrank pin on the shaft, a pawl mounted on the crank pin and a ratchetwheel engaged by the pawl, substantially as described.

11. A leather skiving machine, having, in combination, a die roller, apressure device, a feed slide, actuating mechanism therefor, a register,and means for actuating the register comprising a shaft, a pinion on theshaft, a rack meshing therewith movable with the feed slide, a crank pinon the shaft, a pawl mounted on the crank pin and a ratchet wheelengaged by the pawl, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

' JACOB R. SCOTT. Witnesses:

HORACE VAN EVEREN, ALFRED H. HILDRETH.

